


Show Them We Are

by Shi_Toyu



Series: Evil Tony Fics [10]
Category: Iron Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Dubious Morality, Emotional Comfort, Fake Enemies, I Don't Even Know, Loki Does What He Wants, M/M, Moral Ambiguity, Paris (City), Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, hidden agendas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 18:03:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9618956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shi_Toyu/pseuds/Shi_Toyu
Summary: paris \ 'pa-res\ n 1: a sentimental yearning for a reality that isn't genuine 2: an irrecoverable condition for fantasy that evokes nostalgia or day dreams





	

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the song Paris by The Chainsmokers.

Tony slammed open the door to the hotel penthouse with one hand while he yanked angrily at his tie. The Eiffel Tower could be seen through the window like a perfect painting, but he was clearly too worked up to enjoy it. He threw his key card into the kitchen, grumbling angrily the entire way as he trudged into the living area to flop into a chair next to the room’s only other occupant.

“Fucking media _sharks,_ ” he groused. “You’d think I’d be used to it by now, but every time I think my expectations can’t get any lower, they _do._ ”

His companion arched one elegant eyebrow and a reed of willow was placed carefully down on the glass-topped coffee table next to a lit candle and a lock of hair.

“You seem frustrated.”

“Frustrated? Really?” Tony gave a bark of laughter that didn’t hold a trace of humor. “I think I passed ‘frustrated’ back when I had to scrape my best friend out of a ditch in the runway of an airport.”

“Mmm… We knew they would be stubborn in clinging to the idyllic image of your Captain.”

Tony groaned and drug a hand over his face, letting out a huff of exhaustion.

“I don’t know… I’ve taken a lot of shots in my time, but I’m not so sure we can work this out. Even after all this, they still put him on a fucking pedestal.”

“Heroes are the hardest to make fall, Stark.”

A snort.

“Never seemed to stand in my way.”

His eyes rose to meet emerald ones, the pain and exhaustion striking. Here, he let down all his masks. His companion was up in a moment and crossing to crouch before him, a pale hand on each of the genius’s knees.

“You are no hero. You are so much more, so much better than merely that.”

A crook of lips, the faintest hint of a smile, and then it was gone.

“I wish I could believe that, Loki. I wish I could believe I could _do_ this.”

The god scowled.

“Do you wish to just give up, then? To leave your precious world to the likes of _Steve Rogers?_ After all you have done to ensure its safety? After the deals you have made?”

For a moment, the genius’s jaw clenched and Loki thought that’d been enough, that he would rise to the challenge. He deflated a moment later, though, gaze falling to the pale hands still on him.

“What if I can’t hold up my end of the deal? What happens then? Because this doesn’t seem to be working.”

Loki growled and whirled away, turning towards the window that overlooked the city. It was considered quite old, by Midgardian standards.

“Then you try something _else._ You assured me you were the best your world has to offer. I would not have made our deal if I’d detected any lie in that.”

“Well, it looks like I was wrong!” Tony exclaimed, rising as well, _now_ getting angry. “So sorry to be a disappointment yet again!”

Loki knew he was not referring to having failed _Loki_ before. He never had. He always gave a stunning performance that left the god wanting more. This time would be no exception.

“The only way you could disappoint me,” he spoke gravely, “would be if you did _yourself_ the injustice of just giving it up after all this.” He allowed a moment for that to sink in. “Come, join me.”

He stepped to the side, reaching for the handles of the double doors which led out onto the terrace. They swung open easily, and Loki glanced over his shoulder with a coy smirk. The man looked more resigned than eager as he crossed the room to accompany the god into the open air, though. Loki ushered him to the edge so they could peer out into the streets below.

“Going to throw me over and just end it, then?”

Loki pointedly ignored the ridiculous comment.

“Look, Anthony,” he said, gesturing to the people below, tourists and locals alike. “Not a one of them has any idea the danger they are in from entities they don’t even know exist. They are ants who don’t notice the boot until the sun is blotted out by its shadow. Without protection, they will die just as easily.”

“No freaking duh. I’m aware, thank you. That’s why we were doing this in the first place.”

“Then there is your ‘team’, for lack of a better word. They are… let’s call them grasshoppers. They are greater than the ants, harder to step on, but they are still but insects. They will still be squashed.”

Loki could see in every line of Tony’s body that he understood this _well._ He knew exactly what danger his world and her people faced. Of course he did. That’s what had brought them together in the first place, before all of this had even started.

“Then what are we?” he finally asked, apparently deciding to play Loki’s game.

He always did. That’s why he was Loki’s favorite. The god grinned.

“We’re dogs,” he proclaimed gleefully. “Our purpose in life is to chew on the boot and cause endless headaches for the Norns.”

Tony snorted, snickered, and then finally laughed. It changed his features completely, breathing life back into them.

“Somehow, I think you’re focused more on the latter part of our ‘purpose’.”

“And you on the former. It is why we work so well together,” Loki agreed, reaching for Tony’s hips and pulling him closer.

He came easily, giving Loki a kiss on the lips before resting his head against the other’s shoulder. His own arms wrapped around Loki’s waist.

“So… You want to try something else then?”

Warmth bloomed in Loki’s chest.

“I have a few ideas.”

“Why am I not surprised? Alright,” he pulled away, pulled himself together, “let me change. We’ll go find a corner café somewhere, have a few glasses of wine, and you can tell me all about them. Good?”

“Perfect,” Loki purred, feeling a truly undue amount of affection for this mortal man, this _brilliant_ , broken man.

Yet Tony still didn’t move to go inside. His gaze fixed on the tower in the not-so-great distance.

“The first time I ever came to Paris,” he murmured, “I came with my parents. Dad was working the entire time, of course. We barely saw him at all.”

Loki nodded easily to the total non-sequitur. They were not wholly uncommon between the two of them.

“Given your history, I am not sure whether to offer my condolences or not.”

The corner of Tony’s mouth twitched upward.

“It was just Jarvis, mom, and me. It was the best vacation I ever had,” he confessed. “Dad would have just ruined it. He wasn’t really big on fun.”

Loki hummed in acknowledgment, but said nothing. It was usually best to just let Tony go where he would with these tangents.

“He wasn’t really big on me, either, really. I sometimes wonder…”

Loki understood perfectly, despite the fact that he was sure Tony wouldn’t ever finish that particular sentence.

“We, both of us, live in the shadows of our father’s influence, no matter how we might try to escape them.”

“Legacy,” Tony mused bitterly, “but not quite the ones they were hoping for.”

Loki placed a hand on Tony’s cheek to turn his head.

“In the end, it’s not about them, Anthony. It’s about us.”

Tony’s gaze softened as he leaned into Loki’s touch.

“What would they say, do you think? If they could see us? If they had any idea of our plan?”

“If they could comprehend it, you mean,” Loki snorted derisively.

“What would anyone say? What _will_ they say, when all of this comes out?”

It was clear the idea weighed heavily on the genius’s mind, and Loki couldn’t have that. Tony wasn’t usually in need of this much comforting. Norns knew he’d dealt with enough of Loki’s moods for the god to return the favor, though.

“They’ll say you could do anything. They’ll say I was clever,” he said with a grin. “It’s all their feeble minds will be able to handle of it.”

“And if we get caught before our plans can actually happen? If we get _killed?_ ”

Loki tossed his head and waved off Tony’s concerns, however real they could become.

“We’ll get away with everything. I swear to you.”

Tony leaned in for another kiss, lingering over the sensation of their lips moving gently together.

“We’ll put on the greatest performance the Nine Realms have ever seen.”

“Let’s show them we are better.”

“Better than what?”

“ _Everything._ ”

**Author's Note:**

> To be clear, there will not be more of this universe.


End file.
